March 31 DVD Roundup

As usual, synopses are taken from the press releases; snarky commentary is extra. Preview links go to Apple.com when available, unless otherwise noted.

An American in Paris

MGM/Warner Bros., 114 minutes, not rated, $28.99 (BD)

Ex-GI Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) stays in Paris to paint and must decide between wealthy American patron Nina Foch or French gamine Leslie Caron. The film serves mostly as an excuse to sing and dance around Paris, as I recall. Restoration process should clean up the copy considerably. Six months after it’s conventional DVD special edition release, the BD version is finally here. Extras: MGM short “Paris on Parade;” MGM cartoon “Symphony in Slang;” documentary on Kelly; all new documentary “‘S Wonderful: The Making of An American in Paris;” outtakes, radio interviews; song featurettes.

California Dreams: Seasons 1 & 2

Shout! Factory, 690 minutes, 31 episodes, 5 discs, $44.99

Saturday-morning sitcom of the “Saved by the Bell” variety; five teenagers in a popular band at Pacific Beach High School have to deal with all the peer pressure points common to teens: drugs, scams, divorced parents, cliques, etc. Extras: reunion featurette, video jukebox.

Remake of the 1951 thriller stars the emotionless Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, but this time he’s not as inclined to be forgiving of mankind. And it’s not nuclear weapons that have him ticked off, either. Not well received by critics or audiences. Extras: the superior original film. Special edition adds deleted scenes, four featurettes, commentary, still galleries, digital copy for Mac and PC. BD adds picture-in-picture commentary, interactive game.

Ghosts of Mars

Sony, 98 minutes, R, $28.95 (BD)

Mars is a colonized matriarchal society, mostly running mines. Natasha Henstridge is a cop sent to bring in criminal ‘Desolation’ Williams (Ice Cube), but a latent Martian civilization has declared war on the humans by possessing their bodies. The cop and the crook team up for war. I’d dismiss this out of hand, but John Carpenter directs it. That doesn’t mean I’ll be buying it, though. Extras: commentary, three featurettes.

Gigi: 50th Anniversary

MGM/Warner Bros., 92 minutes, G, $28.99 (BD)

Schoolgirl Gigi (Leslie Caron) becomes the mistress of playboy Gaston (Louis Jordan) in 1900s Paris in this Cinderella story musical. Considered risqué for the late 1950s, the storyline got approval from the MGM brass after “My Fair Lady” became a big Broadway hit and Arthur Freed got the some of the creative team behind it to write the songs. Won Oscars in every category (9) that it was nominated; but none of the actors were nominated. Like “An American in Paris” listed above, the BD version is finally here. Photo-chemically restored from the original Eastmancolor process. Extras: MGM short “The Million Dollar Nickel,” MGM cartoon “The Vanishing Duck,” new documentary “Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi.”

Go, Diego, Go! Rainforest Fiesta

Nickelodeon/Paramount, 96 minutes, $16.99

Dora the Explorer’s male counterpart does his bit to save the rainforest. No extras listed.

Two more collections from the “Goosebumps” tales collection. No extras listed.

Handy Manny: Manny’s Green Team

Disney, 58 minutes, $19.99

Three eco-friendly episodes of the popular “Playhouse Disney” fare aimed at preschoolers; starring the Hispanic handyman and his box of talking tools. Includes a never-before seen episode: “Saving Turtles.” Extras: recycling game.

Hanna Montana: Keeping It Real

Disney, 113 minutes, 5 episodes, $19.99

Just in time for the impending “Hanna Montana” movie on April 10 comes the latest disc, featuring the never-before-seen episode “Ready, Set, Don’t Drive.” Extra: featurette on star Miley Cyrus’ makeover, movie cash.

In Plain Sight: Season One

Universal, 551 minutes, 3 discs, $59.98

Quirky series about a female U.S. Marshall (Mary McCormack) in charge of the Federal Witness Protection Program in her town. It’s on cable, so it’s probably better than most of the cop shows on network. At least, that’s what the reviews on Amazon.com say. Extras: deleted scenes.

Jim Gaffigan: King Baby

Comedy Central/Paramount, 72 minutes, $16.99

Second comedy special from the comedian, taped in Austin in 2008. Extras: seven featurettes.

Newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) adopt a yellow Labrador Retriever so that they can practice being parents. Unfortunately, their “child” is a demon seed: flunking obedience school, chewing the dry wall and the sofa, stealing the turkey and more. You know how every time a “dog movie” comes out, the ASPCA and PETA and all of those other acronym-animal-lover organizations worry about people rushing out to adopt the same breed only to cast it off later? I don’t think there will be as much of an issue here. Special edition extras: deleted scenes, five featurettes, gag reel, digital copy for Mac and PC. BD adds dog training trivia track, dog training lessons, bonus conventional DVD of the film (like Disney has been doing of late).

The Matrix

Warner Bros., 138 minutes, R, $34.99 (BD)

Computer hacker Neo (Keanu Reeves) finds out that he’s really just a drone in a computer-generated world. With the help of some freedom fighters, he busts out and then goes back in to learn how to save the world. This has got to be the ultimate computer nerd fantasy: he’s a hacker; he gets to download martial arts techniques and other useful skills directly into his brain; he gets to shoot guns and kick ass; and he gets the beautiful babe (and she’s a hacker too!). In case you didn’t want the special edition BD set released last year, here’s your chance to own the first film on BD. New extras: 47-page book case, digital copy, picture-in-picture commentary.

The One

Sony, 87 minutes, PG-13, $28.95 (BD)

Jet Li has discovered the Multiverse, in which everyone has other versions of themselves inhabiting other universes. He travels to each one, killing his other self in turn and getting stronger and smarter with every murder. Now there’s only one other version left to kill, but it’s going to be the hardest kill of all. Sounds like the screenwriters overdosed on Robert A. Heinlein’s “The Number of the Beast.” Extras: commentary, five featurettes, two Easter Eggs.

The Other End of the Line

MGM, 106 minutes, PG-13, $27.98

India call center girl Priya (Shriya Saran) falls in love with a New York businessman (Jesse Metcalfe) over the phone. She pretends to be in San Francisco, and when he suggests that they meet when he’s there for business, she hops a plane to the States. Her parents find out and chase after her with the intention of bringing her home. See what you started, Danny Boyle? Now we’re going to be inundated with Bollywood imports! No extras listed.

Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior

Universal, 67 minutes, $19.98

Ash and his Pokémon friends seek to return a feisty Pokémon to his friends, but run into a struggle over the Reverse World alternate universe. I didn’t know they were still making this stuff. No extras listed.

Ricky Gervais: Out of England

HBO, 72 minutes, $19.97

Stand-up comedy with the British comedian on fundraising, fame, nursery rhymes, Nazis, moronic friends and obesity. Gervais is co-creator of the hit British comedy series “The Office,” which was recreated into a hit American comedy series.

Schoolhouse Rock! Earth

ABC/Disney, 50 minutes, $26.99

Eleven new animated “Schoolhouse Rock!” lessons, all focusing on environmental issues. Also features a remastered “Energy Blues.”

Scooby Doo and the Samurai Sword

Hanna Barbera/Warner Bros., 75 minutes, $19.98

Overtly talkative Great Dane and his mystery-solvin’ pals go to Japan to take on an ancient Samurai Warrior in this made-for-video feature. If only they had learned about seppuku. (I keed, I keed.) Extras: featurette on martial arts and samurai tradition.

Will Smith is an IRS agent who decides to redeem himself for something terrible that he did (as if being an IRS agent wasn’t enough) by changing the lives of seven strangers. Has anyone noticed that Smith seems to make action flicks (“Independence Day,” “Bad Boys,” “Men In Black”) for summer release, then chick flicks (“Hitch,” “The Pursuit of Happiness”) for winter release (and possible Oscar nominations)? Extras: deleted scenes, four featurettes, commentary.

Shakespeare’s “An Age of Kings”

BBC Video, 947 minutes, 15 episodes, 5 discs, $49.98

15-part British mini-series based on Shakespeare’s history plays covering Richard II (1399) through Richard III (1484). No extras listed.

Eighteen-year-old orphan Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is one question away from winning 20 million rupees on India’s version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” But when the show breaks for the night, the police arrest him for cheating, because how could a street urchin know all those answers? In a series of flashbacks, he tells them the story of his tough life, the girl (Frieda Pinto) he loved and lost; all of which prepared him to answer all of the questions correctly. Bollywood gets a mainstream director (Danny Boyle) and sweeps this year’s Oscars in the film that critics raved about. Don’t know about the public, though. It seemed to me that this film appeared to be an indie and festival darling, but provided little impact on the superhero lovin’ crowd (who were miffed that “The Dark Knight” got completely skipped for Best Picture, but this movie not only made the list but freaking won?!?!). Extras: making-of documentary, deleted scenes, two commentaries. BD adds a featurette, short film, music video and digital copy.

South Pacific! 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

Fox, 157 minutes, not rated, $34.99 (BD)

The famous Rogers & Hammerstein musical about life, love and prejudice on a South Pacific island: A young American nurse (Mitzi Gaynor) meets a handsome mysterious French painter (Rosanno Brazzi) during World War II. Extras: commentary, karaoke subtitles, songs only option, full-length documentary, extended scenes, featurette, “60 Minutes” segment, “Movietone News” segment, music videos, screen tests.

Spectacular!

Nickelodeon/Sony, 90 minutes, $24.94

Nikko (Nolan Gerard Funk) is a wannabe rock star that gets dumped by his band and is recruited by a high school choir on their way to a national championship. Nickelodeon’s answer to the “High School Musical” craze, I guess. Extras: four featurettes, two karaoke music videos, downloadable ringtones and “Rock Band” videogame songs.

Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Big Journeys

Cookie Jar/Fox, 45 minutes, two episodes, $14.98

The animated toy character and her friends load up the car and camper to see a rare flower bloom, but complications and obstacles get in the way. In the second tale, Strawberry bets Pie Man that she can go around the world in 80 days. Extras: character gallery, printable coloring pages.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Season Four, Volume 1

Fox, 714 minutes, 13 episodes, 3 discs, $39.98

First half of the fourth and final season of the 1960s action/adventure series by Irwin Allen (later known as “the Master of Disaster” for his disaster flicks). Extras: the re-cut, unaired pilot, interviews with David Hedison (Captain Crane), still gallery.